Jules Coignet
View of Beirut, 1844

Alberto Pasini
A Mosque, 1886

Charles-Théodore Frère
Jerusalem from the Environs, 1880

Frere began his career painting the French countryside, but exhibited only Middle Eastern scenes after a stay in Algeria in 1837. He returned to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean many times and eventually established a studio in Cairo.

Jean-Léon Gérôme
Arabs Crossing the Desert, early 1870s

Jean-Léon Gérôme
Before the Audience, 1881

Jean-Léon Gérôme
The Almeh, 1873

Jean-Léon Gérôme
Prayer in the Mosque, 1871

Jean-Léon Gérôme
Bashi-Bazouk, 1868-69

This arresting picture was made after Gérôme returned to Paris from a twelve-week journey to the Near East in early 1868. He was at the height of his career when he dressed a model in his studio with textiles he had acquired during the expedition. The artist’s Turkish title for this picture – which translates as “headless” – evokes the unpaid irregular soldiers who fought ferociously for plunder under Ottoman leadership, although it is difficult to imagine this man charging into battle wearing such an exquisite silk tunic. Gérôme’s virtuosic treatment of textures provides a sumptuous counterpoint to the figure’s dignified bearing.

Auguste-Xavier Leprince
Model Resting in the Artist’s Studio

Charles Bargue
Bashi-Bazouk, 1875